Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The legendary Hal Eisner. Hello Bear, how are you, sir?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
If I were any better, I wouldn't know what to
do with myself.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I appreciate you taking the time to come on the
air and congratulations. A fifty eight year adventure as a
broadcast news reporter. That's the subtitle of the new book,
an Accidental Career. I'm assuming there's something. What do you
mean by accidental? You weren't planning on doing this? How
did your career begin? Or why an accidental career?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, all of the above. I wasn't planning on getting
into broadcasting. I was thinking I might be a lawyer.
I was in high school. I was in the high
school band. Local radio station in Dallas, Texas had a contest.
They said, send in a postcard. So that's why you
want to report your high school football score on Friday nights.
I was at the games anyway, in the marching band.
I thought why not, and I sent in a postcard
(00:51):
and they actually pulled my car out of a raffle
box and I won. And it's because I won that
raffle that you and I were talking right now, because
otherwise I might have been a lawyer.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Back in Texas Kis Matt, you were meant to be.
And I mean you've been in every major market, a
couple not so major markets. You've been at this a
long time, some of the biggest networks. What was your
favorite stint?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Well, you know, I've got to tell you, I radio
was my first love. Yeah, and I really enjoyed radio
so so much. And then when the opportunity presented itself
to move over into television, it was something that, you know,
it was hard to turn down. And I brought me
to Los Angeles, and you know, I ended up covering
(01:39):
so many stories. I ended up being in the front
row to history and writing the first page of those
history stories in many cases. And I think that as
I look back over all the years, I'm amazed that
I got so lucky to be able to do all
the things I got to do. And if I had
it to do all over again, I don't think I'd
(01:59):
change a thing, really.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
And you covered the La riots in nineteen ninety two,
which I remember quite vividly. Were you like a man
on the street for those or were you, you know,
back to throwing it to people on the street from
the studio? Big distinction there.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah, I was a field reporter. Oh man, I had show.
I was eight years but I was in the streets.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Yeah, I wouldn't want it to be you know. I
remember watching those and thinking, all hell is breaking loose
some of the stuff that there was a level of disbelief.
I didn't think Law and Order was ever going to
be revisited in LA at that time. And I've sat
on this show just so you know too, and again
(02:42):
wrong with broadcast news reporter. Veteran broadcast news reporter Hal Eisner,
his new book, And Accidental Career is out. My fifty
eight year adventure as a broadcast news reporter. I say
all the time, even back when I was a kid,
when I would watch people lie in the streets, you know,
throwing it back to you in the studio, and people
(03:03):
are fist fights in the background. Never never mind in
some war torn region. I remember seeing Hraldo once and
like a bomb went off behind him and thinking, are
you crazy? Why would you take this job?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
You know, we have a First Amendment, and we are
the protectors of the First Amendment. We are the people
who are charged. We've given you information and whether that
information comes from a place that's dangerous or not. We
all have a right to know what's going on. Yeah,
and so, just like police officers and just like firefighters,
news reporters are first responders, and we know how to
(03:39):
deal with situations. We understand situational awareness, and we basically
over years kind of train ourselves on how to deal
with situations like protests and things that sometimes get out
of control. And you know, we have a right in
this country to speak up. We have a right to
be able to say we don't like something, get in
(04:00):
the streets and hold signs and express our unhappiness and
that's that's that's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
And so as news reporters, oftentimes we'll get in the streets,
we will actually sometimes be respected by many in the
streets because they know we are sending out the message
that they are putting out on the street, but we're
countering it with balance as well.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
There's no better person to ask this question of than
someone like Hal Eisner, a guy who's been at it
as long as you have. I mean, the games changed
quite a bit, you know, back even the La Riots
in nineteen ninety two. When you watch the evening news,
you trusted what the the anchor was telling you there's
a skepticism. Now, you've got to be aware of that.
(04:43):
It's been the last couple of years, if not longer
than that, there were people watch TV with an arched
eyebrow and they wonder if there's bias and that a
lot of broadcasts veer into op ed territory. And is
that something you would you you've seen happen and you
don't like seeing it happen, or what are your thoughts
(05:06):
on the direction journalism is going in broadcast news reporting
is going in I.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Would argue that those who are trained and I would
argue that those who are trained in mainstream journalism are ethical.
I would argue that those of us who have done
this job and understand that we have to get two
sources for every piece of information we put out. I
would argue that if we put out false information, we
(05:33):
could end up in court and be sued. I was
never sued in fifty eight years. I would argue that
what you're saying is a bias created by a blur
of the lines between news and information. Hundans who comment
on the news. There have always been commentaries, but it
kind of got to be commentaries with testosterone when we
(05:56):
started having twenty four hour news network.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Yeah, that that's a good way to put it to
with testosterone. You covered the OJ trials to Michael Jackson trials,
even the OJ one. Much like I said, with the
LA riots, I vividly recall where I was. I was
at work. We stopped what we were doing for work.
I was an editor at the time. I've I got
(06:19):
my first byline in nineteen eighty nine to hear that verdict,
the OJ verdict announced on the radio a moment, really,
a nation in disbelief. Really.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
I covered the crime. I covered the crime and all
that led up to the trial. I watched the trial
just like you did. It was must see television. I
mean the dream Team defense and the prosecution with Marcia
Clark and Christopher Darden. This was a big deal. It
was a story of the century, and I think that
(06:52):
we didn't have to be covering it to fill the
ramifications here in Los Angeles of somebody of OJ Simpson's
stature being prosecuted, and the crime itself was brutal, but
he was acquitt and then later in a civil trial
he was found responsible. But I think the bottom line
is that you know, there are trials that come up
(07:15):
that involves celebrities that are incredibly impactful, not just for
the community, but those of us who cover these stories.
And I think that we are in many cases in
the front row of history, and we in many cases
as journalists right the first page of the history books.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
You probably have a jam packed day today, but I
wanted to acknowledge you were on the job in twenty
twenty one. It's an awful especially with such a storied career,
covering a story in Hollywood and injured in a crash
caused by a drunk driver. That's my heart goes out
to you on that. What happened there? And did that
(07:53):
speed up? Did that hasten the retirement? I would imagine
it did.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
It didn't not at all. I'll tell you. For all
the criticism there is about social media, it was social media,
the public, the viewers that kept me wanting to keep
going forward. My media blew up, Instagram, Facebook, everything blew up.
People were worried, they were concerned for me, my photographer,
(08:19):
and of course the other people who got hit by
the driver who was under the influence and jumped the
curb and motus down like we were bowling pins and
I ended up in the hospital fractured ribs, and so
did my photographer. But I've got to tell you that
it was my intention to get back in front of
that camera to show all these people that showed their
(08:40):
concern for us that I was going to be okay
and I was going to be able to get back
to work and be fine. And eventually I got back
to work, and I stayed working for a few more
years until I wanted to retire. Not because somebody who
irresponsibly was behind the wheel of a car mowed me
down and would have caused me to retire. I wasn't
gonna let that happen.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I recall covering that too. Have you Do you know
Nick Clooney? Do you palle around with Nick Clooney? Ever
worked with him?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
No? Oh? I watched him on TV. The closest I
got to Nick Clooney was interviewing his son George.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Interesting. Nick Clooney actually used to call into my old
Believe it or not. I did a talk radio Top
forty radio show in the nineties with Glenn Beck, and
we had Nick Clooney on a few times, and quite
a career there too. As far as news reporting, a
journalism is concerned. So, and I know he had a
stint in La I assumed you might have crossed paths
(09:35):
in that way.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Interested he was on the local NBC station here as
an anchorman, and I thought he was terrific. I thought
he was really really good.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Well, you're the legend. No relation to Will Eisner.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
No relation to Will Eisner, no relation of Michael Eisner,
no relation to all the famous Eiseners. And I think
they're all richer than I am. But you know, I'm happy.
I'm happy as a please punch. As Hubert Humphrey used
to say, to tell you that today is the release
date of this book. I have a life full of
(10:09):
stories in there.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
You do.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
And I'm really really glad to have the opportunity to
speak with you and talk a little bit about this
because as broadcasters, we do go through a lot of things,
and we you know, we experience a lot of things.
I think we're all books with legs waiting to happen.
And you know, when you sit down and you feel
like you want to write your story, I'm sure it's
going to be a good one too.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Yeah. Well, I appreciate that sentiment, and I can't wait
to read your book, An Accidental Career, My fifty eight
year adventure as a broadcast news reporter. Hal Eisner, What
a pleasure speaking with you today. I want to tell
you to enjoy your retirement. You don't seem like the
kind of you. Seem like you're going to be very restless.
I don't know how much. Yeah, I don't know how
much of a retirement it's actually going to be, but
(10:51):
you learned it well.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
I'll tell you. I'm having a wonderful time traveling. I'm
taking our classes. I've got a couple of guitars here,
an acoustic and electric. I'm waiting to learn how to
play the only thing I know how to play on them,
A secret agent. Man, I got something, I got plenty
to do.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah, well, I'm glad that's that's something. I mean. I
know a lot of guys with a couple of guitars
in the backdrop of the videos they make, they can't
even play a chord on those things. You got one
song in your repertoire, you know that's enough. I appreciate
you coming on today. You do have a lot of
stories here, and I can't wait to read the book.
(11:28):
Thanks for taking the time.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Thank you so much, have a great day. Everybody really
appreciates this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Take care how
The legendary Hal Eisner. Hello Bear, how are you, sir?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
If I were any better, I wouldn't know what to
do with myself.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I appreciate you taking the time to come on the
air and congratulations. A fifty eight year adventure as a
broadcast news reporter. That's the subtitle of the new book,
an Accidental Career. I'm assuming there's something. What do you
mean by accidental? You weren't planning on doing this? How
did your career begin? Or why an accidental career?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, all of the above. I wasn't planning on getting
into broadcasting. I was thinking I might be a lawyer.
I was in high school. I was in the high
school band. Local radio station in Dallas, Texas had a contest.
They said, send in a postcard. So that's why you
want to report your high school football score on Friday nights.
I was at the games anyway, in the marching band.
I thought why not, and I sent in a postcard
(00:51):
and they actually pulled my car out of a raffle
box and I won. And it's because I won that
raffle that you and I were talking right now, because
otherwise I might have been a lawyer.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Back in Texas Kis Matt, you were meant to be.
And I mean you've been in every major market, a
couple not so major markets. You've been at this a
long time, some of the biggest networks. What was your
favorite stint?
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Well, you know, I've got to tell you, I radio
was my first love. Yeah, and I really enjoyed radio
so so much. And then when the opportunity presented itself
to move over into television, it was something that, you know,
it was hard to turn down. And I brought me
to Los Angeles, and you know, I ended up covering
(01:39):
so many stories. I ended up being in the front
row to history and writing the first page of those
history stories in many cases. And I think that as
I look back over all the years, I'm amazed that
I got so lucky to be able to do all
the things I got to do. And if I had
it to do all over again, I don't think I'd
(01:59):
change a thing, really.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
And you covered the La riots in nineteen ninety two,
which I remember quite vividly. Were you like a man
on the street for those or were you, you know,
back to throwing it to people on the street from
the studio? Big distinction there.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Yeah, I was a field reporter. Oh man, I had show.
I was eight years but I was in the streets.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Yeah, I wouldn't want it to be you know. I
remember watching those and thinking, all hell is breaking loose
some of the stuff that there was a level of disbelief.
I didn't think Law and Order was ever going to
be revisited in LA at that time. And I've sat
on this show just so you know too, and again
(02:42):
wrong with broadcast news reporter. Veteran broadcast news reporter Hal Eisner,
his new book, And Accidental Career is out. My fifty
eight year adventure as a broadcast news reporter. I say
all the time, even back when I was a kid,
when I would watch people lie in the streets, you know,
throwing it back to you in the studio, and people
(03:03):
are fist fights in the background. Never never mind in
some war torn region. I remember seeing Hraldo once and
like a bomb went off behind him and thinking, are
you crazy? Why would you take this job?
Speaker 2 (03:15):
You know, we have a First Amendment, and we are
the protectors of the First Amendment. We are the people
who are charged. We've given you information and whether that
information comes from a place that's dangerous or not. We
all have a right to know what's going on. Yeah,
and so, just like police officers and just like firefighters,
news reporters are first responders, and we know how to
(03:39):
deal with situations. We understand situational awareness, and we basically
over years kind of train ourselves on how to deal
with situations like protests and things that sometimes get out
of control. And you know, we have a right in
this country to speak up. We have a right to
be able to say we don't like something, get in
(04:00):
the streets and hold signs and express our unhappiness and
that's that's that's a good thing.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
And so as news reporters, oftentimes we'll get in the streets,
we will actually sometimes be respected by many in the
streets because they know we are sending out the message
that they are putting out on the street, but we're
countering it with balance as well.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
There's no better person to ask this question of than
someone like Hal Eisner, a guy who's been at it
as long as you have. I mean, the games changed
quite a bit, you know, back even the La Riots
in nineteen ninety two. When you watch the evening news,
you trusted what the the anchor was telling you there's
a skepticism. Now, you've got to be aware of that.
(04:43):
It's been the last couple of years, if not longer
than that, there were people watch TV with an arched
eyebrow and they wonder if there's bias and that a
lot of broadcasts veer into op ed territory. And is
that something you would you you've seen happen and you
don't like seeing it happen, or what are your thoughts
(05:06):
on the direction journalism is going in broadcast news reporting
is going in I.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Would argue that those who are trained and I would
argue that those who are trained in mainstream journalism are ethical.
I would argue that those of us who have done
this job and understand that we have to get two
sources for every piece of information we put out. I
would argue that if we put out false information, we
(05:33):
could end up in court and be sued. I was
never sued in fifty eight years. I would argue that
what you're saying is a bias created by a blur
of the lines between news and information. Hundans who comment
on the news. There have always been commentaries, but it
kind of got to be commentaries with testosterone when we
(05:56):
started having twenty four hour news network.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Yeah, that that's a good way to put it to
with testosterone. You covered the OJ trials to Michael Jackson trials,
even the OJ one. Much like I said, with the
LA riots, I vividly recall where I was. I was
at work. We stopped what we were doing for work.
I was an editor at the time. I've I got
(06:19):
my first byline in nineteen eighty nine to hear that verdict,
the OJ verdict announced on the radio a moment, really,
a nation in disbelief. Really.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
I covered the crime. I covered the crime and all
that led up to the trial. I watched the trial
just like you did. It was must see television. I
mean the dream Team defense and the prosecution with Marcia
Clark and Christopher Darden. This was a big deal. It
was a story of the century, and I think that
(06:52):
we didn't have to be covering it to fill the
ramifications here in Los Angeles of somebody of OJ Simpson's
stature being prosecuted, and the crime itself was brutal, but
he was acquitt and then later in a civil trial
he was found responsible. But I think the bottom line
is that you know, there are trials that come up
(07:15):
that involves celebrities that are incredibly impactful, not just for
the community, but those of us who cover these stories.
And I think that we are in many cases in
the front row of history, and we in many cases
as journalists right the first page of the history books.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
You probably have a jam packed day today, but I
wanted to acknowledge you were on the job in twenty
twenty one. It's an awful especially with such a storied career,
covering a story in Hollywood and injured in a crash
caused by a drunk driver. That's my heart goes out
to you on that. What happened there? And did that
(07:53):
speed up? Did that hasten the retirement? I would imagine
it did.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
It didn't not at all. I'll tell you. For all
the criticism there is about social media, it was social media,
the public, the viewers that kept me wanting to keep
going forward. My media blew up, Instagram, Facebook, everything blew up.
People were worried, they were concerned for me, my photographer,
(08:19):
and of course the other people who got hit by
the driver who was under the influence and jumped the
curb and motus down like we were bowling pins and
I ended up in the hospital fractured ribs, and so
did my photographer. But I've got to tell you that
it was my intention to get back in front of
that camera to show all these people that showed their
(08:40):
concern for us that I was going to be okay
and I was going to be able to get back
to work and be fine. And eventually I got back
to work, and I stayed working for a few more
years until I wanted to retire. Not because somebody who
irresponsibly was behind the wheel of a car mowed me
down and would have caused me to retire. I wasn't
gonna let that happen.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
I recall covering that too. Have you Do you know
Nick Clooney? Do you palle around with Nick Clooney? Ever
worked with him?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
No? Oh? I watched him on TV. The closest I
got to Nick Clooney was interviewing his son George.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Interesting. Nick Clooney actually used to call into my old
Believe it or not. I did a talk radio Top
forty radio show in the nineties with Glenn Beck, and
we had Nick Clooney on a few times, and quite
a career there too. As far as news reporting, a
journalism is concerned. So, and I know he had a
stint in La I assumed you might have crossed paths
(09:35):
in that way.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Interested he was on the local NBC station here as
an anchorman, and I thought he was terrific. I thought
he was really really good.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Well, you're the legend. No relation to Will Eisner.
Speaker 2 (09:49):
No relation to Will Eisner, no relation of Michael Eisner,
no relation to all the famous Eiseners. And I think
they're all richer than I am. But you know, I'm happy.
I'm happy as a please punch. As Hubert Humphrey used
to say, to tell you that today is the release
date of this book. I have a life full of
(10:09):
stories in there.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
You do.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
And I'm really really glad to have the opportunity to
speak with you and talk a little bit about this
because as broadcasters, we do go through a lot of things,
and we you know, we experience a lot of things.
I think we're all books with legs waiting to happen.
And you know, when you sit down and you feel
like you want to write your story, I'm sure it's
going to be a good one too.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Yeah. Well, I appreciate that sentiment, and I can't wait
to read your book, An Accidental Career, My fifty eight
year adventure as a broadcast news reporter. Hal Eisner, What
a pleasure speaking with you today. I want to tell
you to enjoy your retirement. You don't seem like the
kind of you. Seem like you're going to be very restless.
I don't know how much. Yeah, I don't know how
much of a retirement it's actually going to be, but
(10:51):
you learned it well.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
I'll tell you. I'm having a wonderful time traveling. I'm
taking our classes. I've got a couple of guitars here,
an acoustic and electric. I'm waiting to learn how to
play the only thing I know how to play on them,
A secret agent. Man, I got something, I got plenty
to do.
Speaker 1 (11:07):
Yeah, well, I'm glad that's that's something. I mean. I
know a lot of guys with a couple of guitars
in the backdrop of the videos they make, they can't
even play a chord on those things. You got one
song in your repertoire, you know that's enough. I appreciate
you coming on today. You do have a lot of
stories here, and I can't wait to read the book.
(11:28):
Thanks for taking the time.
Speaker 2 (11:30):
Thank you so much, have a great day. Everybody really
appreciates this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
Take care how
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